Tumbling: Body & Mind, Heart & Soul
by Lulu-Prints
Summary: A decision made by Shishido Ryou's parents when he was just born, setting the stage to his colorful, confusing future; A story dedicated to the silver pair of Prince of Tennis. Will be rated M for chapters to come.
1. Prelude

** Disclaimer :** I do not own Prince of Tennis & the hot tennis princes inside, although like everyone else out there, I really wish I did.

**Note to all : **I had this sudden idea just before going to sleep just now, and I couldn't help but to pen it down.. The story just sort of played out in my head in quick motion. Will continue the story if I have the time or if this seems like a proper idea, although I'm not exactly sure if this will be flamed or something.. Yeah. The story would be centered around Shishido Ryou, although I plan to branch it out into a M-rated story for the silver pair.. Reviews please! Rated T for now, will change to M if continued.

* * *

**Prelude**

"Please, Mr. and Mrs. Shishido, you have to listen to us! It isn't.. No child should be made to go through-"

"Doctor, he's our son. We know how to deal with this."

There was a sharp scratch of chair against the floor. She was the only woman in the room; Mrs. Shishido tensed as she made move to leave, but her husband reached across swiftly, taking her tiny, trembling hands into his own. Shooting him a tiny smile of trust and appreciation, she again relaxed slightly in her seat. However, as she turned back to face the doctor, the only other person in the room apart from her husband and herself, her face fell back into its previously composed mask of calmness, expressionless.

Controlling his urge to break out cursing and sweating, the doctor blinked rapidly, as though hoping it'll clear his mind somehow. If he had a choice, he wouldn't had wanted to be the one to face this couple here, but the rest of the doctors refused to be scolded and pushed the job onto him.. Furiously praying that he would at least get paid overtime for this, the doctor dropped his head for but a moment, and raised his eyes to glance at the lady once more as he pressed on.

"But you're choosing to keep-"

"Excuse me, I'm not having any part of my son taken away from him, thank you! Even if he's.. Even if he's a _hermaphrodite_!"

There, that was the first time she properly used that term, and it felt so weird on her lips.. However, her temper was rising again, and she couldn't care much about this at the moment; Maybe she'll regret later. This doctor was really pushing it. The offer of proper surgery and therapy had already been refused countless of times by her husband and herself, but they just keep pressing.. Maybe she should just..

"Mrs.! Can you imagine all the future trauma the child has to go through when he-"

"Are you suggesting that we should just do this while he's still a baby, and keep it as a secret from him forever? Things that involve hormones can't be controlled just like that! If I were him, I would prefer to have a say in my own gender, thank you!"

She had stood up from the chair, her voice growing steadily louder with every word; It seemed as though her husband was prepared to let her release all her pent-up anger on this brainless doctor. However, with a hand across her chest as she pressed against her heart forcefully, she managed to get a hold on herself once again, and to sit herself back into her seat. The poker face expression was back once more, its effect marred only by the slight twitch of the corners of her lips.

"Excuse me, doctor, but are you possibly suggesting that we'll allowed any other boy to touch our son just like that, or?"

Perhaps it was her final acceptance of the term, of their son's condition.. His tone was kept polite, politely inquiring, yet there was an underlying hint of anger; He, too, felt the need to protect his son's identity, to wait for the right moment for himself to choose. No more shall be questioned by them. The doctor seemed to be smart enough to realise that, but he wasn't smart enough to defend himself. Instead, he chose to..

"Of course not, but the natural female hormones will.."

"Our son will be able to deal with them. We'll teach him how to."

His answer was short, crisp, forceful; The doctor knew he could argue no more. Reaching into his pockets for a handkerchief, the doctor sighed and wiped his brows, a defeated expression arranged on his face as he glanced at the couple before him.

"I don't suppose I could argue anymore, right? I just hope-"

"Thank you. We'll be taking our leave now."


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Prince of Tennis & the hot tennis princes inside, although like everyone else out there, I really wish I did.

**Note to all : **I just realised that my chapter 1 & 2 are redundant. I've been writing too short, because of my exams. Anyway, I've decided to combine the two chapters while editing them at the same time, so I made some minor changes to my language..! ): Sorry for the inconveniences caused. I love you guys, and thanks for reading.

Hope you'll enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

He didn't why exactly, but he knew he hated it. It's been_ a whole year _since things were like this in Hyoutei Gakuen already, but somehow, he just couldn't get used to it.

Not that he ever wanted to get used to it anyway.

At 13 years old, Shishido Ryou knew he had already clearly made his place known on the Hyoutei's tennis team - He had been a regular since last year, alongside with his Buchou Atobe, Oshitari, Gakuto, Jiroh, and Kabaji, although he wasn't technically on the team yet. He knew his deadly glare was what drove most people away from talking to him or befriending him, and this was probably the reason to all his unwanted attention too, but still, Ryou found it extremely annoying to have people staring at him everywhere he went. He didn't like it. And he didn't want to get used to it at all.

Maybe it was Atobe's fault? That annoying guy who had crowned himself the 'King' of Hyoutei automatically has the attention of almost everyone in school. Then again, they Regulars always hung out as a group, so.. It was indirectly his fault, too? He remembered asking Gakuto about it, but as usual, that guy only had the stupidest responses for anyone, including himself.

_"Maybe it's because you're so fierce when you look so much like a girl, Ryou. Ever thought of cutting your hair?"_

This train of thought almost made Ryou jump out of his seat in the middle of the class, but mercifully, he managed to to clear it with a shake of his head. Of course he had never thought of cutting his hair. Keeping his hair long had almost been a natural thing to him since the start, he knew. Even though washing it and conditioning it could be a pain in the ass at times especially when he was in a rush, he knew he would never bear to cut it.

_.. But do I really look so much like a girl? It.. It's not as though I.. I.. Chose to be like this.._

Running his left hand casually through his long fringe, Ryou dragged it backwards towards his ponytail, and sighed as his right hand tightened over his pen. It's no use. He can't concentrate on his work anymore, not with his mind thinking about such nonsense. God knows when lessons for today were going to end.. The silence in the classroom was driving him into a mental block, and even though he didn't really like the teacher a single bit, Ryou desperately hoped that she'll start talking, or get someone to start talking, or to just end the god-damned lesson. Working in silence was definitely hell for him.

Thankfully, after a couple of painful minutes, school bells started ringing in the distance, signalling the end to the lesson. Ryou relaxed slightly, but he then started packing his bag at top speed - There was tennis practice after lunch break, and they'll be meeting the first years that signed up for the tennis team today.

_First years, Cheh. Let's hope there's no one as cocky as Atobe when he first started. _Ryou sighed once more as he chucked his things into his racket bag before swinging it over his shoulders, proceeding out of the classroom without as much as a backwards glance. No one would ever wish for Atobe to meet someone like himself.. Because they, the other members, will ultimately be the ones who'll suffer when it happens.

* * *

Lunch was quick, but not quick enough to get him to the stands before everyone else. By the time he found his way up the stands to get ready, Ryou could already spot Oshitari in his usual seat, a thick book in his hands, a look of utmost concentration on his face. A couple of quick strides were all he needed to make his way to his teammate, and Ryou was guarenteed a couple of quiet minutes with the blue-haired boy's company. It was almost too easy to be around Oshitari, if you weren't the type that hates silence.

But, as usual, this peace never lasted longer than it ever could.

"Yuuuuuuuuuushi~"

".. What is it, Gakuto?"

Just a little to their right, there was a loud 'thud' as Gakuto landed neatly on his feet from his somersault, not that anyone other than the first years would be amazed anymore - He's been doing it around the rest of them too much, come to think about it. A dull, softer 'thud' followed, issued from Ryou's side, and he didn't even need to turn around to know that Oshitari had set his romance novel down by the side, to spare some attention for his doubles' partner. It was pretty amazing how much they could learn about one another within a year. Ryou sighed inaudibly as he gave Oshitari a pat on the shoulder before watching him walk away, towards the red head - Really, if there's anyone around complaining, it'd be Gakuto.

"You shouldn't do that, Ryou! At that rate you're sighing, you're going to age faster!" As expected, nothing could escape Gakuto's sharp ears, Ryou realised as his head jerked in the direction of that annoying red head who shouted, his usual scowl arranging his facial features. That guy's almost specifically born to gossip - He could hear you even if you were technically far away from him. That doesn't mean it isn't annoying, though.

"Cheh, Shut up! You're really noisy today," Ryou yelled back quickly as he drew out his racket from his bag, balancing its familiar weight on the tip of his index finger easily while his other free hand zipped his racket bag shut.

The usual Regulars' bickering again, then. It seems like none of them was going to get a break from that any day soon. There was another sigh from Oshitari, and the blue-haired boy lowered his gaze before clearing his throat and adding quietly, ".. What was it again, Gakuto?"

"That first year glared at me just now! What, having red hair is a crime now?"

".. I'm sure he didn't mean it that way, Gakuto. Relax."

"But Yuushi.."

".. No," Oshitari repeated firmly, hand already curling around his novel as he scooped it up.

_Perhaps he's only doing this to Gakuto because I'm around? Well, whatever. _Somehow, Oshitari was the only person around who could make Gakuto shut up, not including Atobe of course. It's really amazing, really. Oshitari had withdrew himself back into that romance novel of his, leaving Gakuto alone, gawking with his mouth wide open for the moment. As Ryou watched the red head pout suddenly, he turned his head away to stifle a grin, and glanced at the cowering group of first years. Half of them must have only joined because they wanted to be close to Atobe, or for reasons similar. _Cheh, some of them weren't even holding their rackets properly._

Throwing himself off the bench, Ryou leaped onto his feet and swung his racket bag over his other shoulder, while easily keeping his racket balanced all the time. Since practice was to begin anytime soon, Ryou decided to make his way to deposit his racket bag, moving away without glancing backwards at the pair in awkward silence. It's about time he gave this pair some space of their own to 'fight it out'.

"I'm going to the club room. Catch you guys in a bit."

For whatever reason, he didn't know. However, he could almost swear that he saw the corners of Oshitari's lips jerking up ever so slightly at his words.

* * *

Atobe Keigo must have a fairy godmother to himself, that granted him whatever he wishes. Either that, or that guy's just seriously too rich, and has nowhere else to spend his money on. Involuntarily, Ryou jumped as he threw the doors to the tennis club room open, half expecting Atobe to have installed automatic doors when they weren't around. He was still not used to the magically expanded space they now have, compared to the miserably tiny and awfully dimly-lit room they had as a club room at the start of last year. After Atobe made himself the 'King' of the tennis club, he expanded the club room, renewed their equipments, and even found space for more practice courts..

No one could argue against him. Not that anyone in the right mind would.

Regulars now have their own lockers, those typical lockers Western students had in their schools - Probably explained by Atobe's influences from his past overseas experience. Grumbling slightly as he wrenched the door to his own locker open, Ryou found himself frowning as he watched multiple envelops fall out with his action. If it wasn't for Atobe's school-wide announcement about Hyoutei's Regulars 'welcoming' love letters and declarations, he wouldn't have to deal with this trouble every single time he opened his locker. Snatching up the tiny mountain of envelops and notes, Ryou dumped them into the bin a hand's stretch away, not without noticing the building pile of torn opened envelops inside it.

It just annoys the hell out of him, even without seeing what his fan girls had written for him.

And yes, almost everything's Atobe's fault. So, perhaps he could blame all these unwanted attention and stares on Atobe, too?

_... Not that it makes any sense that way._

Cursing, Ryou threw his racket bag into the largely emptied locker, and turned to slam the door shut.. When a loud crash outside the club room caught his attention. Brow raised, his hand still on the door to the locker as he almost slammed it shut, Ryou's grip tightened on his racket, and the second year found himself inching towards the front door of the club room slowly, only vaguely wondering if he should be doing this or not.

_Hmmm._

* * *

_Crash._

"Oh god-"

"No, don't.." _Not Kami-sama.._

"Sorry, it slipped."

"It's alright, I'll do it.. Are you okay, Hiyoshi-kun?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay.."

Ootori Choutarou sighed as he straightened the trash bin Hiyoshi Wakashi had knocked over accidentally, throwing a quick glance in Hiyoshi's direction to find that the said boy already had his back pressed against the walls as though nothing happened, trying to continue moving quietly. Thankfully, the trashbin had been rather empty, so he didn't had much cleaning up to do. Joining Hiyoshi once again when he was done, Choutarou, too, pressed his back against the wall, ignoring his racket bag which jutted out oddly, and continued moving sidewards slowly.

"Really, Hiyoshi-kun, are you sure we're allowed to.."

"Please relax, Ootori, I'm just going to see if A-"

"But we're supposed to be at the courts already, they'll.."

"Shhh, Ootori, I think I hear some- Oh."

Choutarou gasped as he took a sudden step back, for he had almost ran into Hiyoshi. The other boy had just suddenly stopped by his side, and if he didn't react fast enough, he would've ran straight into that guy.. _Hiyoshi-kun should really learn to stop stopping in the middle of nowhere._

Then again, it wasn't exactly in the middle of nowhere.. Instead of reporting to the courts for the first-years' tryouts, Hiyoshi had dragged Choutarou all the way to Hyoutei's tennis club room. Now, Choutarou somehow found himself pressed up against the walls of the club room while Hiyoshi peeked over at the door.

"Neh, Hi-"

Glancing over his shoulders at his partner, half-wondering what's wrong now, Choutarou found himself staring straight into a pair of brilliant amber eyes, which was bright with amusement. He stopped sharply in mid-sentence, and gasped again as he leaned back against the wall.

"You won't find Atobe here, you know. The courts are across the field there."

A third person, the one who had spoken, raised a slender finger at them, pointing towards somewhere behind them both. Hiyoshi whipped around almost at once as though he didn't want to look at the person who had 'found' them, and for a moment, Choutarou caught a scowl set on the golden-haired boy's lips before he replaced it with his usual blank, unfocused expression. Choutarou himself, however, found himself staring a lot more at the third person instead of the direction he was pointing towards, earning him a raised eyebrow and a tiny smirk from the said character.

If he didn't know better, he would've just assumed that this person in front of him was a girl; That long and neat ponytail of mahogany hair, fluttering gently in the light spring breeze, easily emphasizing his brilliant irises and his slim figure. That smirk playing by the corners of his lips, however, brought out a somewhat playful but naughty feel to this boy - Choutarou could safely say that he was a boy now, after staring so hard at him, because he looked oddly familiar - Ah. He'd seen him with Atobe before at the first-years' tennis club tryouts, a year ago when he was still in Junior high.

"Thank you," Hiyoshi murmured stiffly, hooking Choutarou's arms tightly in an attempt to wrench the silver-haired boy away from the unnamed boy, displeased at how his friend seem to be unwilling to move. Choutarou, on the other hand, hadn't seem to snap out of his daze yet, and refused to be dragged away by Hiyoshi.

The unnamed boy laughed shortly, a sound that Choutarou was quite sure would linger in his memories from that moment onwards, for reasons yet unknown to him..

"If you guys don't get going, you'll be late for the tryouts."

Without hesitation, Hiyoshi sighed and dragged Choutarou away, leaving the unnamed boy alone in front of the club room.

After what seemed like an eternity later after the mahogany-haired boy left his line of sight, Choutarou winced as he finally felt the pain on his arm, and wrenched free of Hiyoshi's startling strong grasp. His arm immediately went numb as he left it limp by his side.

"Ouch!"

"I had to, Ootori, you were rooted to the ground," Hiyoshi stated quietly, finally slowing down to a stop. They'd finally found their way to the tennis courts used for tryouts anyway, and by the look of all the first-year students gathered all over the stands, tryouts have yet to start.

"Next time-"

"Next time, don't stare at people like that."

Choutarou jumped abruptly as his memory of the mahogany-haird boy surfaced in his mind. "I.."

"I know he's pretty, but-"

"No- I mean, yes, he is.. But that's not the point!"

"But that was why you were staring so hard at him."

Choutarou fell silent, a bright crimson flooding to his cheeks as he looked steadily away from Hiyoshi. Swiftly drawing out his own racket from his racket bag, Hiyoshi sighed and poked Choutarou in the sides with it, earning him a flushed glare and a slight pout.

"But in any case.. Do you know who he was?"

Choutarou asked quietly, blush still haven't quite faded yet, head bent as he, too, drew out his tennis racket from his bag. Feeling Hiyoshi's stare on him once more after he'd ask the question, Choutarou reached out to grab Hiyoshi's arm, and dragged him towards the courts without looking at him. By now, the first-years had started to gather.. Tryouts were about to begin.

It had taken a while for him to drag the right memory to the surface of his thoughts - After all, Hiyoshi does recall seeing that mahogany-haired boy, too. "I think.. He's called Shishido Ryou," Hiyoshi answered quietly a long while later after they got into lines, just before Atobe appeared infront of the crowd.

* * *

"Seriously, what's Atobe thinking?"

At the sound of Gakuto's exclaim, Ryou jerked himself out of his daydream, and focused his trained eyes on the courts down below. Weird, how he was thinking about what happened just now, and to be honest, he thought that the way he dealt with it was kind of.. Weird. Somewhat not like himself. Then again, that aside, Ryou knew he had to focus now. Regulars were given a day off today because they were supposed to help keep a lookout for brilliant first-year players during the tryouts, but by the looks of things, nothing had started yet. Shooting a 'what-the-hell' look in the red-head's direction, Ryou let his eyes wander.. Until he locked gaze with a certain first year down below.

_Oh, it's that golden mushroom head again, _Ryou smirked as the said boy glared at him murderously before looking away. It's pretty amazing and amusing how persistent and crazy these first-years could get when it comes to stalking Atobe. Just the other day during their Regulars' training practice, they had to drive a couple of first-years students off the stands because they were demanding to see Atobe play. Eyes continuing down that aisle, Ryou found his attention captured again by a certain boy with startling silver hair..

_No, this is just ridiculous. Stop it Ryou, stop staring at him._

"Didn't you hear, Ryou? Atobe said whoever gets a ball past him will be on the tennis team! That's so.. Easy! Unfair!"

Gakuto proved to be a good distraction, Ryou concluded vaguely as he threw another glance at the red-head before finally focusing his gaze on Atobe. _Just one ball? _That sure sounds a little too easy. It's not as though Atobe was asking for an entire game. Then again, maybe he thinks that this year's first-years wouldn't be up to standard..

A sidewards glance from his team's blue-haired tensai confirmed that they both had the same suspicions on Atobe's decision, and it didn't take very long for the first-years below to prove that point to them.

Atobe had easily cleared one-third of the first-years in less than half an hour, and none of them had managed to get a ball past him.

No, to be more exact, half of that one-third of first-years couldn't even return Atobe's serve, which was so weak and badly-done that Ryou doubt it was could even be considered as a serve. The other half of that one-third couldn't even maintain a proper rally with Atobe, let alone try to take a score from him.

Ryou was starting to doubt if they'd get any first-years this year.

"At this rate, we won't have any new juniors to play with!" Gakuto echoed his thoughts, sighing as he fell back into his seat. This was getting rather pointless; There was hardly any point for them to keep watching at all. It'd be much more productive for them to practise anyway.

"Atobe's not the only one getting fans these days," Oshitari stated suddenly, his quiet voice laced with deep amusement. Gakuto whipped around quickly at the sound of his doubles' partner's voice, his expression evidently demanding for further elaboration, but Shishido merely responded with an unconcerned "Cheh."

"I'm serious, Shishido. You're building up your own fan-club too, I see."

"Huh?! Ryou has a fan-club?"

"Wha-?" _What the hell?_

"Look, there. That silver-haired boy."

"Wha- No, stop it."

"Oooooooooooooh!"

"Quit it." _The least I need is for Gakuto to start noticing these things too.._

"He's been staring at you alot, I noticed."

"Well, it's hard not to notice- Oh my god Yuushi he just blushed and looked away! He WAS staring!"

"..."

"Well, that proves my point."

"Shut up, Oshitari, since when did Gakuto-" _affect your head so much you become so naggy-_

"He just tried to look at you again Ryou!"

It's useless, Ryou decided after realising he wouldn't be able to shut Gakuto up once the red-head started. Whipping around so that he now kept his back against the excited D2 pair on the Hyoutei Regular team, Ryou's gaze fell on the silver-haired boy once again, now that he was out of things to focus on. This time, he managed to catch the younger boy's eyes, and as expected, the silver-haired boy looked away quickly, blushing furiously as his golden-mushroom-headed friend poked him in the side with his racket.

"I'll go ask for a name for you, Ryou!"

"I don't need that!"

_I really don't need that. _Frowning at his own voice echoing in his head, Ryou shook it off, and tried to focus once again on Atobe's game.


End file.
